There are a lot of design patterns out there and I don't want to learn them all. It looks like MVC and Singleton are the most commonly used and mentioned.
Which patterns are important from the job perspective ? Are they all very useful ?
Java Newbie with 72% in OCJP/SCJP - Super Confused Jobless Programmer.
I am a "newbie" too. Please verify my answers before you accept them.
You probably don't need to know each one of them. I suggest it would be better off is you could elaborate on the ones you have used and how they helped solve the problem. The again it depends on the level of position you are being interviewed for. The expectations of a junior developer would be far less compared to that for a senior level professional. I have a basic understanding of most of the commonly used patterns and I keep myself prepared to discuss the ones I have used in better detail.
Google "singletons are evil" before you start relying on your knowledge of the Singleton pattern in interviews. I'm not really qualified to judge whether singletons are truly evil, but a lot of smart people seem to find them decidedly untrustworthy at the very least!
Pick up a copy of "HeadFirst Design Patterns", which is fun and practical Java-based way to start learning about patterns.